Why Did a Homeless Man Return $2,400 Found on the Street and Refuse the $5,000 Reward?

A homeless man in Canada found $2,400 on the street, which he decided to turn over to police rather than keep for himself. The inspirational news motivated others to start a crowd-funding campaign for the man, raising more than $5,000 as a reward for his honesty. However, the man decided to refuse that payout as well.

According to Q13Fox, the homeless man turned in the money to the Royal Canadian Mounted Police, which later found its owner.

Victoria Buzz’s Mike Kelly started a Go Fund Me campaign for the homeless man (see it at this link), and the RCMP decided to find the guy and tell him that thousands of dollars were waiting for him.

“After hearing this story and seeing how this case touched so many people, I took a personal interest in finding this man, looking for him everywhere while on and off shift,” Constable Alex Bérubé told the news channel.

“It’s not easy tracking down a person of no fixed address and no phone, but I kept trying because I needed to tell him about how the community had rallied together to help him,” Bérubé added, revealing that he finally found the man on Monday, June 22nd, at which point he told him about the reward.

“His response surprised me yet again, when instead of asking how to collect it, he asked me how to donate it to Our Place and other food service providers for people in need,” the officer said.

Investigators asked him to reconsider his decision, but the man returned a day later insisting that the money should be given to others. What the man wanted, was a job.

Meanwhile, Kelly will continue to manage the crowd-funding campaign and see that the right group receives the funds. At the same time, Kelly is also hoping to find a job for the homeless man.